a) “Fronter” Update
b) Accord Inclusive Schools Award
c) The Trojan Horse Conference
d) SACRE Annual Report 2013-2014
e) Islamic Competition
Minutes:
a) “Fronter” Update
“Fronter” is an on-line resource available to Bromley Schools which has a section on Religious Education.This had been reviewed by the RE Adviser to ensure it was up to date and a copy of the front page was circulated to SACRE Members to illustrate its content and links to other available resources. There was some concern that teachers were not aware of “Fronter” and were not accessing its resources. The RE Adviser said that a member of the Education Department was “resetting” the way teachers can access “Fronter” and would send a notification to all schools. She would contact the member of staff concerned to see if this work had been completed, (ACTION PSO).
It was confirmed that the RE pages of “Fronter” were not available to the public, although some Members thought that this would be a good idea as it was a useful resource. However following discussion it was considered that due to technical and financial constraints this would probably not be possible. However, SACRE Members asked if it would be possible for them to be given a password and access to the RE page of “Fronter”. The RE Adviser said that she would check to see if this could be done, (ACTION PSO).
b) Accord Inclusive Schools Award
This Annual Award made by the Accord Coalition for Inclusive Education is given to schools which have done the most to promote inclusion, cohesion and the growth of mutual understanding, particularly on the grounds of religion and belief. It was reported that the Chairman and RE Adviser had recommended Bullers Wood School should apply for the award. Jed Stone said he would look into completing the on line nomination form on behalf of the school. It was noted that the closing date was 7th December 2014.
c) The Trojan Horse Conference
A one day conference had been held in Birmingham on 27th November 2014, to explore the impact on RE, Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development (SMSC) and collective worship, following the “Trojan Horse” investigation at Birmingham schools. Keynote speakers were Joyce Miller, Chair of the Religious Education Council and Alan Brine, Ofsted’s recently retired National Adviser for RE. It was reported that the Chairman and RE Adviser had hoped to attend the conference but it had been oversubscribed. It was understood that the conference would be held again in January 2015 and further details were awaited.
d) SACRE Annual Report 2013-2014
The RE Adviser was in the process of completing the SACRE 2013-2014 Annual Report. Unfortunately she had not yet been able to obtain details of the examination results for the RE short course and would contact schools directly to ask for the information (ACTION PSO). (It was noted that the RE short course did not count against school performance measures.) When completed the Report would be passed to the Chairman for approval before being published. This would be distributed to SACRE Members, the Director and Assistant Director of Education, the Education Portfolio Holder, Members of the Education Policy Development and Scrutiny Committee, libraries, schools and NASACRE. It was also agreed that a copy of the annual report should be sent to Nicky Morgan, the Secretary of State for Education.
e) Islamic Competition
The prize giving for the Islamic Competition had taken place at Darul Uloom on 13th November 2014. Mr Mahmood had prepared a report which had previously been circulated to SACRE Members. Forty seven students aged 11 and 12 years from six schools, (Farrington’s, Hayes, Priory, Bullers Wood, Bishop Justus and Langley Park Boys) had submitted projects. Mr Mahmood remarked that the quality of projects had been very impressive and innovative.
The Chairman and RE Adviser had attended the event and commented positively on the very successful occasion. Jed Stone said that it had been a wonderful evening, and as always those who attended had been warmly welcomed. The parents and students who attended had been very complimentary. Mr Mahmood hoped that more schools would participate in the future. He agreed to send details of the 2015 competition to the RE Adviser for her to put on “Fronter”. The Chairman thanked Mr Mahmood for organising the Islamic Competition which promoted understanding of the Islamic faith and helped to build up good relationships.
(Councillor Jefferys arrived after consideration of this item.)